The Chaperone
by xSlythStratasfaction
Summary: One night, years and years ago, Cooper Anderson got the most terrifying phone call of his life. All he could think about was how he turned down his little brother's one simple request: to chaperone his first school dance. POSSIBLE SPOILERS 3x15. ONE SHOT.


DISCLAIMER: I do not own Glee, nor am I associated with it or RIB or the amazing cast.

**The Chaperone**

By: xSlythStratasfaction

Warning: Spoilers for a character to be introduced 3x15. This is based on some stuff floating around on Tumblr about Cooper Anderson. It's just a bit of my headcanon, I guess. There's some bad language in this and possible TRIGGERS involving gay bashing (just describes some of the injuries, that's all - also my medical mumbo jumbo is just that: MUMBO JUMBO).

* * *

><p>"Baby? Your fucking phone's ringing."<p>

Cooper rolled over, yawning as he propped himself up on his pillows and sleepily blinked at the brightness of his room. Next to him, the warm body of his girlfriend slipped away as she tip-toed across the room and grabbed up Coop's ringing cellphone, carelessly tossing on the bed.

"Who could be calling at this hour?"

"Oh, I don't know," the girl grumbled as she stumbled into the bathroom. "The ringtone sounds like your little brother. Why he'd be calling at this hour, I'll never know." She slammed the bathroom door shut and Cooper rolled his eyes at her disappearing form. Quickly, he accepted the call and leaned back against his pillows.

"Hello?"

"Cooper?"

"Blaine, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's nearing one in the afternoon. Why?"

"Fuck! Are you serious?" Cooper pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at the glowing screen, eyes widening as he realized that it was truly almost one o' clock. "Fuck. I didn't think we slept that long."

"We?"

Cooper heard his brother suck in a sharp breath and he knew what the boy was thinking; Blaine knew of his girlfriend. Maddie had been a part of Coop's life for at least six months now – and still, Blaine didn't like her. He ignored the strange noise Blaine made and continued, "Yeah, Mad's here with me."

"I don't see why you like her so much."

"Fuck, Blaine. Do we really have to do this right now?"

"Do you really have to use that word so much?"

Cooper rolled his eyes and pulled the phone away again. He was half tempted to hang up on Blaine's ass, but he didn't. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he really hadn't heard from his brother in a while. So, obviously Blaine was calling for something. "Why are you calling me for anyways, B? You never call me."

"You never seem to want to talk."

"Bullshit-"

"Well, you don't! You're always too busy with _Madalyn_ or out with your friends. You never have time for me."

"Oh come on. You know that's not true. I just saw you - what? Like, a month ago?"

Blaine sighed, "For about an hour. That was it. Then you went out with your high school friends."

"I never see them."

"You never see me."

Cooper groaned, smashing an arm against his face. The bathroom door opened and Maddie came out, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend's distress. _Is Blaine being a drama queen again?_ She mouthed, pointing at the phone. Cooper nodded and Maddie rolled her eyes again, stepping out of the bedroom and out into the hall.

"Blaine, next time I come in, I promise to spend more time with you, okay? Now I hate to cut this short, but I've gotta get ready for work here in a little bit and you haven't exactly told me why you're calling."

There was silence on the other end and Cooper wondered for a minute if his little brother had hung up the phone. "Blaine? Hello, Blaine? Are you there?"

"I'm here," the boy sounded quiet and resigned.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I already… I already asked mom and dad about this and they both shot me down immediately, but-" He paused. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind being a chaperone at my Sadie Hawkins' dance next weekend. They really need people and you're over 21, so you'd be perfect and I was hoping-"

"That I could come and watch over your little dance."

"Well, yeah. I've never been to an actual school dance before and-"

"Oh my God, my little brother is growing up! How exciting!"

"Coop!"

"What? Sorry. Continue."

"And I was hoping that you could be here to… uh, you know…"

"No, I don't know. _Be there to what_?"

Blaine started mumbling a bunch of utter nonsense and Cooper strained to hear him; his attention only slipped away when Maddie crept back into the room, her eyes locked on his phone.

"Still talking to Blaine?" She whispered. Coop nodded and she scoffed. "What does he want?"

Cooper pressed his hand over the phone, silencing his voice to Blaine. "He wants me to chaperone his dance next weekend."

"No."

"_No_ what?"

Maddie threw her hands into the air, "No you can't chaperone his dance. We have plans next week, Cooper. Remember our dinner with Shelly and Adam? We can't just cancel; we've had this planned for weeks!"

"But Blaine wants me to come, Mad. I really haven't been around for-"

"I swear to God, Cooper Anderson, if you cancel those plans for this, I will never speak to you again."

"Madalyn, come on."

"No! Sort out your priorities and then come talk to me," and she stormed out of the room. Cooper raked his hands through his hair in frustration, frowning when he heard Blaine's voice come through the phone.

"Moody Madalyn sounds angry."

"Wait, you heard all of that? And don't call her that."

"Yeah, you didn't cover up the phone very well."

Cooper sighed, looking down at his tousled sheets, "Blaine, listen. I really-"

"No, it's okay. I understand. You have plans. It's alright."

"Blaine-"

"No, really. It's fine. I'll take pictures and send them to you or something. Have fun with your friends."

"Blaine!"

But he had already hung up. Cooper tossed his phone to the side, pressing his fists to his eyes. His girlfriend was mad at him, his brother was mad at him, and he was stuck having to choose between the two of them.

Sad thing was: he knew _exactly_ who he was going to choose.

* * *

><p>"Oh my God, baby! Taste this!"<p>

Maddie waved her glass in Cooper's face, allowing the sweet smell of chocolate and whipped cream waft into his nose. Whatever she was drinking smelled delicious and Cooper smirked at her, sliding an arm around her waist as he leaned down and kissed her.

"Who says I need to take a drink of it when I can taste it on your tongue?"

Maddie purred and latched back onto him, their tongues swiping against each other as the two of them danced against each other. As their hands wandered, Cooper felt his cell phone vibrate against his butt.

"Fuck, someone's calling me."

"Ignore it," Maddie yelled, immediately downing the rest of her drink. She threw her arms back around Cooper's neck and tugged him down for another kiss. She was sorely disappointed when he pulled away from her, his hands reaching back into his pockets to pull out his phone. "They're still calling?"

"It's my mom," Cooper hollered over the booming music, turning on his heel to find a quiet place somewhere in the club. He finally ended up going outside, stepping to the side of where the bouncer stood. His phone was still vibrating madly – the display name '_Mom_' flashing up at him. He answered, "Hello?"

"Cooper. Oh God, Cooper."

"Mom? What's wrong?"

"Oh my God, Cooper. Where are you?"

"Mom? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Oh my God, my baby. Oh God."

"Mom?" Cooper felt his stomach drop. Something was terribly wrong. His mother was sobbing wetly, her voice stuttered in tears. He stepped further away from the club, hands shaking as he listened to his mom wail for a moment. "Mom, please! What's wrong?"

"The dance! B-Blaine. It's Blaine. Oh God, Blaine."

Cooper felt his knees give out underneath him as he collapsed to the ground. _Oh God, not Blaine. Anyone but Blaine._

He didn't remember much after that.

* * *

><p>One of his friends slipped out of the club to see where he went and found him sitting stone-faced on the ground. After prying his phone away, the same friend was able to get any information needed out of Mrs. Anderson before they lifted Cooper up off of the ground and hopped in a taxi with him to Westerville General. It took them quite a while to get there, but once the taxi stopped outside the building and Cooper's friend tossed money at the driver, they both went running into the building – running smack dab into a distraught Mr. Anderson in the front lobby.<p>

"Dad? What happened?"

"Some guys jumped Blaine and his friend after the dance. They were waiting for a ride home from Cameron's dad and they were attacked."

"But why?"

"Because they went to the dance together."

_Oh…_

Cooper stared at his father, eyes watering as he stared at the very same hazel orbs that his little brother had. _Blaine_, his little brother, the boy who looked up to him so much, the boy who wanted his brother to be there for him for his first big dance, the boy who wanted nothing more in the world than to be loved. The very same boy who was somewhere in this hospital, injured and alone.

"Is he… is he going to be okay?"

His father was silent as he looked over to the doors to the ER. Right next to them sat an ashen faced Mrs. Anderson, tears streaming down her cheeks as she carefully watched the closed doors. "We don't know yet."

Cooper ignored him and walked across the room, "Mom?"

"Cooper," She thrust her arms out and he dropped to the floor, curling into her embrace. "Blaine will be so glad to know you're here."

_Blaine wanted me to be there for him tonight. I let him down._

"Is he going to be okay?"

"They don't know yet. They rushed him to surgery the minute he got here. They life-flighted him in, Cooper. He was so badly beaten, he had to be flown in." Maria started sobbing and Cooper cried along with her. All he could think of was his baby brother, calling him less than a week ago, so excited about his first dance – only wanting Cooper to be there for him. And now…

The doors to the ER opened up and an older man in scrubs stepped out, eyes immediately training on Cooper and his mom. "Mr. and Mrs. Anderson?"

"Yes."

The doctor waited until Maria and Cooper were both fully standing; his tired eyes taking in the sight of their crying faces. He took a breath, "Blaine is still in surgery. There's more internal bleeding than we thought-" Maria sobbed loudly, "-and there's some extensive damage to his ribs. He flatlined once on us, but we got him back and-"

That was all Cooper heard. The moment _'fla__tlined'_ slipped from the doctor's mouth, his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the floor.

Everything went black.

* * *

><p>"Cooper? Son, are you awake?"<p>

Cooper opened his eyes, blinking rapidly at the voice talking to him. His father was leaning over the bed, hazel eyes bright with worry. _They weren't that bright when he was talking about what happened to Blaine_, he thought, watching his dad's eyes water.

_Oh fuck! Blaine!_

"Blaine! Dad, how's Blaine?"

"Your brother's out of surgery. They've got him in recovery now and your mother is with him. He's still in critical condition, but they're doing the best they can."

"Oh God."

William slunk down into the chair next to the bed, patting Cooper's hand. "Are you alright?"

"Seriously, dad? Blaine's in critical condition and you're worrying about me."

"You hit the floor pretty hard."

"I don't care. You should be in there with Blaine."

"I don't think I can bear to deal with this right now."

Cooper's brows raised, "What?"

"I warned your brother about tonight. I warned him and he insisted on going anyways. He insisted that he and that Cameron boy were just going as friends. Turns out, they were each other's _dates _for the evening. Can you believe that? And now they're both in the hospital. They should've known. _They should have known_."

"Dad! How can you say that?"

"Oh, don't tell me you weren't thinking it too, Cooper. You haven't been too supportive of your brother either. You know how wrong his lifestyle is!"

"It's not so wrong as to warrant being beaten within an inch of his life, dad!"

William's mouth clamped shut and he looked away. Cooper's eyed him for a moment, feeling the anger bubbling beneath his skin. All he wanted to do was lash out at his dad and shake the man – shake the bigotry and hate from him and make him understand that never in a million years did Blaine, _beautiful, precious, intelligent, amazing_ Blaine deserve any of this.

"I want to see my brother."

"Go ahead. He's down the hall. Room 2A."

Cooper threw his legs over the bed, standing up after a moment of regaining his balance. He left the room and his father behind, dashing down the hall as quickly as his unsteady legs would take him – only stopping once he hit room 2A. He swallowed and took a deep breath, opening the door.

He wasn't ready for the sight that greeted him.

* * *

><p>"<em>Cooper?"<em>

"_Yeah, come in."_

_Blaine stepped into the doorway, eyes downcast as he walked over to Cooper's bed and sat down. Across the room, Cooper finished buttoning up his shirt, gazing at his little brother through the mirror._

"_Something up?"_

"_Have you talked to mom and dad lately about me?"_

"_No. They won't tell me anything. Remember Blaine, I've only been home for a few hours. We haven't even had the chance to discuss my new job yet, let alone what's been going on here."_

"_Oh."_

_Cooper didn't miss the way his brother's voice quieted. The boy had always been a little soft spoken and resigned – it was something the Anderson men had been conditioned to do. However, this silence worried Cooper and as soon as he finished tying his tie, he took a seat on the bed next to Blaine and shoulder bumped him. "Everything okay around here?"_

"_Cooper, I'm-"_

_Silence._

"_You're what?"_

"_I'm gay."_

_Blaine jumped up from the bed, curling his arms around his waist as he tried to make himself scarce. Cooper stared back in shock – he had always known there was something different about his little brother, but he never really suspected this. "And how long have you been gay?"_

_Blaine raised an eyebrow, "Uh, forever?"_

"_That's not what I meant and you know it. How long have you known?"_

"_I never really sorted out my feelings until recently__. I knew that I felt different feelings for guys than I did girls, but it wasn't until recently that I really understood it all."_

"_Have you even__ dated a girl before? Kissed one? Anything?"_

_Blaine stepped back as if he had been burnt. His eyes grew glossy as he stared at his older brother, "No, but I've never had the desire to do any of those things."_

"_So then how do you know this isn't a phase?"_

"_It's not. I like boys. I'm gay."_

"_But you've never dated a girl."_

"_And you've never dated a boy, so don't give me that. You're starting to sound like dad."_

"_I'm just trying to understand this, Blaine."_

"_What's there to understand?"_

"_Everything! This! You! The whole thing! I don't get it."_

"_Well I'm sorry that you and mom and dad have the same warped mentality. I thought you'd understand it a little better. I guess I was wrong," and out the door Blaine went._

_It wasn't until later on that Cooper found out the extent of what was going on in his little brother's life – the stories of the bullying, the tenseness between his parents and Blaine, how his brother came out to their mom and dad and ultimately shut himself out of their lives. But not once since then had Cooper actually sat down and talked to Blaine about his sexuality. He just felt that if he ignored it, it wouldn't be something to worry about._

_But this would only turn into something that he would soon learn to regret._

* * *

><p>"Oh, Blaine."<p>

His brother looked so tiny in that hospital bed, his body pale and broken. There were bandages everywhere, machines hooked up all over Blaine's body – beeping away to show that the young boy was still breathing, still alive. Cooper brought his hand to his mouth, eyes watering as he took in the whole scene. Blaine's face was swollen to almost non-recognition; his nose covered in bandages and his eyes swollen shut, puffy. His mouth was busted and bloodied, tiny little black threads sewn into his lips to keep the tears from bleeding out any more. One of Blaine's arms was wrapped in a cast, carefully tucked close to his stomach – the boy was shirtless, bandages wrapped tightly around his ribcage, the tiniest of stitches peeking out from the gauze. There was so much more damage underneath the wound bandages and hidden beneath the hospital blanket. _Those boys had done a number on Blaine_.

"How is he?"

Maria looked up at her oldest son, her bloodshot eyes flickering back and forth between her two kids as she cried. "It's bad, honey. It's just so bad."

"Is he-"

"He's unconscious right now. They said he should wake up within the next few hours, but everything's still up in the air right now."

"I don't understand how anyone could do this to a person."

"Neither can I."

Cooper walked across the room, taking the empty seat on the other side of Blaine's bed. He reached across and brushed a matted curl away from his brother's forehead. "What happened to the other boy?"

"He's in another hospital nearby. He's just as injured, but I think Blaine got it the worst blood loss-wise." She was holding Blaine's non-casted hand; Cooper took notice of the taped together fingers. "I haven't heard anything more about that boy."

Cooper stared down at his brother's broken form and tears slipped from his eyes. He wiped a few away, willing himself not to break down, but soon, the tears came pouring out, along with a batch of choked sobs and whines. Maria rose from her spot and rushed towards her other son, wrapping her arms around him as she too cried for her injured baby boy.

"He didn't deserve this," Cooper wailed. Maria nodded against his shoulder and the two held each other as they cried, the only other noise in the room was the soft beeping of Blaine's heart monitor and the wheezing of the oxygen tank helping keep the boy alive.

* * *

><p>"<em>No, it's okay. I understand. You have plans. It's a<em>_lright."_

"_Blaine-"_

"_No, really. It's fine. I'll take pictures and send them to you or something. Have fun with your friends."_

* * *

><p>Weeks after the Sadies Hawkins incident, when Blaine was finally awake and somewhat moving around, Cooper found himself back at his apartment in Columbus, newly single and newly aware.<p>

He had broken up with Maddie the minute he saw her when he got back to Columbus – citing the fact that he couldn't look at her without thinking of how stupid he was for choosing her over Blaine. She took her things from his apartment and left, flipping him the bird as she went, but he didn't care. Instead, he gathered up his stuff and went back to Westerville for a while to be near his brother. Blaine was awake, but not talking, still disoriented from the beating and still in somewhat of a shock from it all. Cooper couldn't help but feel at fault for the whole ordeal – he had nightmares many times about Blaine's attack, wishing that he had been chaperoning that night, there to take Blaine and his date home after the dance instead of the two boys having to wait outside.

There were many nights spent at the hospital: Cooper sitting in his usual spot in the uncomfortable armchair and Blaine lying in his bed, eyes glued to the ceiling as he struggled to act as if he weren't in tremendous pain. There were days where the brothers fought; days when the only words out of Blaine's mouth were, "Cooper, go home." And where Cooper would shoot down Blaine's request and try to apologize to his little brother, only to be completely ignored.

"_I'm sorry, Blaine. So sorry. I should have been there that night. I should have-"_

"_Go home, Cooper."_

"_Please, B. Just listen to me."_

"_Go home."_

Weeks went by with the same old, same old. Blaine didn't speak. Cooper cried more than he ever had in his life and their parents were scarce. Maria swung by a few times a week, but William was absent a lot – Cooper chalked that up to the fact that the man still blamed Blaine a little bit for what happened. But, if that was the case, then no one wanted him there anyway. So, during the days when their parents were gone, Cooper spent time just talking to Blaine, telling him about his job, his apartment, and his future plans. He dearly hoped that his baby brother would open up soon for him, but nothing happened.

He didn't speak during that month in the hospital. He didn't talk when he was sent back home and off to physical therapy and he didn't even talk when his mother signed him up for therapy sessions to help with his depression. It wasn't until Cooper slipped into his room one night that Blaine finally talked, eyes wet and voice shaky.

"Dad wants me to go back to school."

"He what?"

"I can't go back there, Cooper. I just can't."

"What about mom? What did she say?"

"She wants me to go to Dalton Academy; it's safer there."

"Do you want to go there?"

"I don't care where I go."

"Blaine-"

The boy had broken down then. Cooper gathered him up in his arms and cried along with him – both brothers sobbing and apologizing for things that they really needn't apologize for, especially Blaine. It was during that night that Cooper was able to bond more with his little brother, learn more about him, and finally begin to understand exactly who Blaine was.

It was that night that changed everything, that brought the Anderson brothers closer.

* * *

><p>"<em>I was wonderi<em>_ng if you wouldn't mind being a chaperone at my Sadie Hawkins' dance next week__end. They really need people and you're over 21, so you'd be perfect and I was hoping-"_

* * *

><p>"I'm going to prom with Kurt."<p>

"You're what?"

"McKinley's prom is coming up and Kurt wants me to go. So I told him I would."

"Blaine, are you insane? "

"I told him about Sadie Hawkins, about what happened."

"Did you tell him everything?"

"No, but still, he knows."

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"Cooper-"

"No, Blaine. I really think you should just pass on this one. I don't want a repeat Sadie Hawkins. I don't think I could deal with that."

"You won't have to deal with it. It'll be me who has to-"

"You know what I mean, Blaine."

"I know, but really Coop, everything will be fine."

"Do they need chaperones?"

Blaine sucked in a sharp breath, "No, I think they're pretty good with that right now."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm positive."

"Because I will chaperone that dance in a heartbeat, Blaine."

"I know."

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know."

"So if you need me at all that night, you call me okay."

"I will."

Cooper hated to say it, but the night of prom, he was glad when Blaine called him and told him about what happened with Kurt being crowned Prom Queen. Sure, he wasn't happy that something that awful happened, but he was thrilled that the only phone call he got that evening had nothing to do with his baby brother being in the hospital.

Going to bed that night, mind flashing back to that awful day just a few years ago, Cooper pulled the blankets up over his head and prayed a little thanks that Blaine and his boyfriend were kept safe that night. As he went to sleep, instead of his dreams being plagued of the night of Sadie Hawkins and his failure to be a good brother, Cooper dreamed of how much Blaine had grown over these last few years – from the broken boy lying in that hospital bed to the boy who pushed through the crowd and asked his boyfriend to dance in the spotlight.

Blaine didn't need a chaperone that night; he took care of himself and for that, Cooper was proud.

* * *

><p><span>AN: I really don't know where this came from. I know it was definitely inspired by a few Tumblr posts I had seen about Cooper and the Sadie Hawkins dance. I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't other stories out there about Cooper being asked to be a chaperone because I wasn't the one who thought of this idea – it was just something floating around on Tumblr, so I definitely don't take credit. I just thought up this particular story in regards to that _prompt_ and ran with it. And thus, here it is. I hope you liked it and I hope you review! Also, I'm going to be angry if canon!Cooper isn't a nice guy (like if he's a homophobe or something). Speculation says that he might not be the greatest dude ever, but I hope he's not completely loathsome, haha. We'll see! Please review!


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